Daddy Derek
by bahjcb
Summary: Being a father isn't as easy as he thought it would be. And, Derek Morgan never thought it would be easy. Random snippets, no particular order.
1. Firsts

_I've been listening to the radio a lot lately and heard _Tough Little Boys_ by _Gary Allan_. That song inspired this fic._

**

* * *

**With everything that had happened in his life, it took a lot to scare Derek Morgan. At least until came to his girls. The least little threat to them had him scared to death. 

Derek remembered the day Penelope told him she was pregnant. It was a toss up if he was feeling more thrilled or more terrified at the prospect of becoming a father. As the months danced forward, Derek was fascinated with the growing bulge that held their child. The BAU team tired of seeing sonogram pictures, but Penelope smiled each time he laid his hand against her stomach to feel their child move within her.

The day little Alina was born, Derek wasn't ashamed to say he cried. He had never felt so happy. When her big eyes looked up at him and she grasped his finger, it was love. He would spend the rest of his life protecting and taking care of his little girl.

Trying to teach Alina to walk was pure entertainment for Penelope. The least little bit of progress and Derek praised their daughter to the skies. Every time she fell down, however, her daddy rushed over to make sure she was okay and then proceeded to assure little Alina that it was alright and she'd get it next time. Derek did this even when Alina wasn't the least bit upset. Alina took learning to walk better than her daddy.

Alina also took going to school for the first time better than her daddy. While Alina was excited to be a big girl and learn stuff, Derek was terrified for her. What if someone was mean to her? What if she got hurt? What if…Penelope finally had to quiet him with a kiss. The list just ran on.

Despite being distracted by his wife, Derek didn't forget his worry and drove by the school at least three or four times so he could just glance in the window and make sure his little girl was doing well. That's not mentioning the number of times he called.

This Saturday, however, was another first for Alina. It was the first time she got to ride a big girl bike without training wheels. Once again, Alina was excited and Derek was terrified. She could break bones, Derek explained to Penelope.

Watching their daughter ride up and down the block (perfectly steady with no bone breaking events), Penelope slipped her arm around Derek's and leaned her head against his shoulder.

"What are you thinking about, hot stuff?"

"One day I'm going to have to give her away. Alina's going to meet this amazing guy and I'm going to have to smile as I hand her over to him."

Instead of reminding her husband that their daughter was barely five, Penelope grinned and replied, "And then you'll sit in her room and cry."

Derek laughed, "Probably, baby girl. Probably."

"Derek Morgan, what are you going to do when this baby is born?" Placing a hand on her seven and half month bulge, Penelope added, "You'll go nuts trying to worry over both of your little girls like this."

Slipping his arm around his wife's expanding waist, Derek kissed the top of her blond head.

"I'll still have you to tell me when to back off. Besides, if this one," he said, placing his hand on Penelope's baby bump, "is anything like her mother and sister, she'll just tell me to back off and do whatever she wants."

Grinning up at him, Penelope teased, "Morgan woman are stubborn."

"Don't I know it," Derek replied, before giving his wife a quick kiss.


	2. First Date

_This chapter is dedicated to _need-courage-to-write_ who wanted me to continue. I finally found another idea!_

**

* * *

**Hearing the doorbell, Derek grinned almost ferally as he sat down the gun he was cleaning and hurried to answer the door. Waiting on the porch was a teenage boy Derek would describe as a cocky idiot who spent more time thinking with his hormones than his brain. 

The young man gulped when he saw his date's dad and his predatory smile. Having met Mrs. Morgan had _not_ prepared him to meet Mr. Morgan **at all**!

"Come on in, Brad," Derek said as he held the door open.

Gulping, he walked in and muttered, "It's…ah…Brannon."

Derek, who had run a background check on the kid and new perfectly well what his name was, apologized. "Sorry. Brahm, right. I'll remember that."

Brannon started to correct Derek again, but thought better of it. He almost jumped out of his skin, however, when Derek laid an arm across Brannon's shoulders as he guided the boy into the living room.

As they walked, they passed a younger, dark haired version of Penelope Morgan. Giving his daughter a smile, Derek asked, "Kee, tell Lina that Baxter's here, would you?"

Rolling her eyes because she knew exactly what her father was up to, and because Keelia knew he would do the same thing to her dates one day, Keelia just nodded and headed off to find her older sister.

Once in the living room, Derek pushed Brannon in a chair before sitting across from the boy on the couch where he went back to cleaning his gun.

"You know, Bartley, I thought I should just warn you that before my wife was recruited to the F.B.I., she was the best hacker there was. Still is actually. In fact, Boris, Penelope could remove your entire recorded existence. That would mean no Social Security Number, no driver's license, no school records, no phone service…I think you get the idea."

"Yes, sir," Brannon quickly assured the overprotective father.

Holding up his recently cleaned gun up, Derek added, "As an F.B.I. agent I own several weapons. I once worked undercover for eighteen months. If truth be told, I think I still own a couple of the unregistered weapons I used during that time period. And, Barry, I also own a shovel, if you get my drift."

"Yes, sir. Completely, sir. Alina will be completely safe in my company."

"I hope so, Burt. You seem like a nice kid. I would hate to hear about something…untoward happening to you."

Before Derek could explain exactly what "untoward" meant, Alina came hurrying into the room. Giving the occupants a bright smile, she said, "Sorry, I took so long."

Pulling her into a hug, Derek said, "Think nothing of it, sweetheart. Brannon and I were just keeping each other entertained."

As he walked the young couple to the door, Derek added, "Remember, your curfew is at eleven."

Brannon nodded compulsively.

"Have fun," Derek finished with deceptive cheer.

Derek stood on the porch waving as the teens drove off. Penelope seeing the door open, paused as she passed by, and stuck her head outside.

"Stop glowering, handsome. Alina had to date sometime."

"I know."

Penelope shook her head at her husband's menacing tone. After giving him a quick kiss, she added, "Dinner's almost ready so don't stay out here long."

"I'll be in a minute, baby girl," Derek promised before giving his wife another kiss.

As soon as he was sure he was alone, Derek pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and quickly pressed speed dial.

"They just left. Do you have a visual?"

After a sigh, Reid's voice said, "Penelope's going to kill us if she finds out you sent me to spy on your daughter's date."

"Spencer, do you have a visual?"

"Yes, I'm following them right now. At the moment, the Perp is as far as physically possible from Subject A as he can be while in a car."

"Good, keep me updated. I have to go to dinner."

**

* * *

**By eight thirty, Derek realized he hadn't been nearly as sneaky as he though he was. Penelope, curled against him as they watched TV, seemed to absently ask, "Have you gotten any updates from Reid yet?" 

"What?" Derek tried to ask nonchalantly, but as the word came out more as a squeak than anything else, he didn't really obtain his objective.

Penelope turned in her husband's arms so she could look up into his eyes. Smiling, she repeated her question.

"Have you gotten any updates from Reid yet?"

"It's only been an hour," Derek replied, giving up on the subterfuge.

"So, any minute now."

"He should have called two minutes ago."

Just as Derek finished his complaint, his phone started to ring. Quickly, he answered, anxious to find out what was happening.

Not bothering with pleasantries, Reid went right to his report.

"They just turned onto your block. I believe he's taking Alina home."

"Why? What happened?"

"I don't know exactly, but I think it has to do with the fact that every time Alina tried to touch his hand, Brannon pulled away. Alina looks hurt. They've just pulled up," Reid reported.

Derek nodded, not that Reid could see, and hung up the phone. Before he could do anything else, however, Alina hurried in and rushed up the stairs sobbing.

Exchanging a look with her husband, Penelope said, "I better go to her."

"No, let me," Derek replied. "This is my fault."

Penelope let him go and prayed that he didn't upset their little girl anymore than he already had.

**

* * *

**"Alina, can I come in?" Derek asked as he softly tapped on her bedroom door. 

"Okay," his daughter tearfully answered.

Entering her room, Derek found Alina curled up on her bed, hugging her pillow to her, and crying. Sitting down on the edge of the bed, Derek pulled his little girl into a hug.

"Sweetheart, what's wrong?"

"I'm repulsive!"

"No, you aren't," he quickly assured her.

"You're my dad, you have to say that."

"You're just like your mother and you know how much I love her."

"You think all of us are just like Mama."

"Well, that's because it's true," Derek replied with a grin.

Leaning her head on her father's chest, Alina sighed. "If I'm not repulsive, why wouldn't Brannon even hold my hand? He acted like I was a leper."

"That's because Brannon isn't worthy of you."

"So he treated me badly?" Alina clearly thought her father had lost it.

"No, he isn't worthy because he treated you badly." Pausing, Derek considered confessing. Not wanting his daughter to go on thinking she was repellent, Derek added, "Besides, part of this may be my fault."

Looking up at him with her mother's eyes, Alina asked, "How is it your fault?"

"I may have threatened to disembowel him if he upset you."

"Dad!"

"Hey, if he was a real man, Brannon wouldn't have been worried about what I thought. He would have been more worried about what you thought."

"Are you going to threaten every guy I date?"

"Of course," Derek assured her. Stopping Alina's protest, he added, "I'm just weeding out the bad ones, sweetheart. One day, you'll meet a wonderful man who makes you more than happy, who worries more about you than me, and you'll forget all about idiots like Brannon."

Sniffling, Alina asked, "And you'll like him?"

"No, but I might respect him."

"Is Uncle Spencer going to go on every date with me till then?"

Smiling at how much like her mother she was, Derek gave his daughter another hug and replied, "Who said I'll let him stop once you've met your future spouse?"

"Daddy!"


	3. First Loose Tooth

"Daddy! Daddy, look!"

Derek sat the newspaper down as his third child came running into the room at top speed. Pulling his little munchkin onto his lap, Derek said with a grin, "What am I supposed to look at Rosalyn baby?"

Opening her mouth as wide as possible, Rosalyn pushed her tongue up against her loose baby tooth.

"Look, Daddy! It's gonna fall out!"

Smiling, Derek cuddled his little girl closer. "When it falls out, if you put your baby tooth under your pillow the Tooth Fairy will come and exchange it for money."

"Ahh, really?" Rosalyn asked with big eyes.

"That's right."

"Wow!" Scrambling off her father's lap, Rosalyn said, "I'm going to go eat an apple. Alina said apples make your loose teeth come out."

"That is how Alina lost her last tooth," Derek confirmed.

Even more excited, Rosalyn went running into the kitchen yelling, "Mama, I need an apple!"

**

* * *

**Penelope had just finished brushing her teeth when she felt her husband's strong arms slip around her waist. Smiling, she leaned back into Derek's embrace. 

Nuzzling her neck, he said, "Hey, baby girl, do you have any loose change?"

"How much do you need, handsome?"

"Rosalyn lost an incisor."

"Keelia lost an incisor two months ago and we gave her a quarter."

"Better be a quarter for Rosalyn then too, huh?"

"Unless you want an indignant seven-year-old on your hands tomorrow morning."

"Couldn't have that," Derek teased. Upon kissing his wife's neck, he added, "Change jar on our dresser?"

"We should have a couple of quarters in there," Penelope confirmed.

**

* * *

**After switching Rosalyn's tooth with the quarter, Derek had dropped it on his bedside table and went to bed. Waking the next morning, he quickly scooped up the tooth and headed for the walk-in closet he shared with his wife. Up on the top shelf was a box where they kept their children's baby teeth. 

Just as Derek was about to drop the new tooth in, Rosalyn came running into the room, yelling at the top of her lungs.

"Daddy! Daddy, I got a quarter! The Tooth Fairy left me a whole quarter!"

Unfortunately, the first "Daddy!" startled Derek and he dropped the box. Panicky, Derek dropped to his knees and tried to scoop the teeth back into the box before his daughter found him.

Rosalyn rushed into her parents' closet, waving her nickel. Seeing her daddy kneeling on the floor next to a box of teeth. Rosalyn froze in the doorway.

Seeing her, Derek's heart dropped. Rosalyn was only four—almost five, but she was still too young to stop pretending.

Rosalyn, looking very much like her daddy at a crime scene, walked into the room, analyzing her find.

Derek tensed as his daughter looked up at him. It was obvious from the look in her eyes that she'd made a decision and she wouldn't be swayed, no matter what her daddy said.

Coming forward, Rosalyn wrapped her arms around Derek's neck and said, "Daddy, why didn't you tell me you were the Tooth Fairy?"

"Huh?"

That was not the conclusion Derek thought she would come to.

Eyes widening, the four-year-old added, "Mommy helps you, huh? She finds out who's lost their teeth on her computers!"

Deciding to go along with his good fortune, Derek gave Rosalyn his most serious, I-mean-business look.

"Rosalyn baby, you can't tell anyone, okay? It's a secret."

"I promise!" she quickly assured him.

"Good girl."

"Daddy?"

"Yeah?"

"What do you do with all the teeth?"

Derek thought about this for a second before replying, "_EBay_."

Rosalyn gave this some thought before nodding. "Okay."

And with that, little Rosalyn skipped off to go flaunt her quarter off to all her sisters, leaving Derek alone to finish picking up the teeth.


	4. First Time Driver

_For any of you who were wondering, none of these stories are in any sort of order. I'm jumping around through the years as I come up with ideas. I hope you enjoy this next installment._

**

* * *

**"Let's go over it one more time," Derek instructed. 

Keelia rolled her eyes. "Dad do we have to do this every time we get into the car? We're just going to the grocery store."

Seeing Derek's face harden, Keelia sighed and gave in. Touching each object to show her father she knew what it was, Keelia started to list the _important_ car functions.

"Horn, windshield wipers, lights…" then with an impish smile she got directly from her mother, Keelia flipped on the radio as she said, "Tunes!"

Derek flipped the music off and gave his daughter a dark look. "And when can you listen to the radio while you drive?"

"After I've shown you an appropriate amount of driving aptitude after driving for a period of at least six months on my own without any traffic violations of any kind—including park tickets."

Keelia decided that telling her father that Mom let her drive with the radio every time they drove together wouldn't be wise. She knew if she did that Law Enforcement Officer Dad would curtail their adventures. Even worse, Keelia knew if she told, her mother wouldn't go behind her father's back as punishment for spilling in the first place.

"Good job," Derek replied, proud his daughter had remembered. "Let's go. Back out slowly."

"Yes, Dad," Keelia replied with another roll of her eyes.

**

* * *

**Penelope looked up from her laptop as Derek and their second child carried in the groceries. Keelia was practically bouncing—a direct result of being able to drive. Derek, however, looked slightly ill. 

Catching his wife's eye, Derek nodded, signaling that he would be right back to share.

After dropping off his bags, Derek got Keelia started on putting the groceries away, and went back to his baby girl. Sinking into the couch, Derek wrapped an arm around Penelope's shoulders and pulled her too him.

"Did you know that Kee can drive the car sideways?" Derek ignored his wife's barely restrained giggles. "I told her to change lanes and we were instantly over in the other lane. That should be impossible, Pen."

"At least she checks her blind spots," Penelope comforted her husband. Of course, her laughter didn't help.

"Baby girl, I'm being serious here."

Setting her laptop on the coffee table, Penelope turned to better see her mate's expression. Placing her hands on each side of his face, she said, "Derek, Alina never signaled and liked to drive with one hand. You broke her of those bad habits, and I'm sure you can help mold Keelia into a…non-teleporting driver."

After giving her a quick kiss, Derek replied, "Very funny, goddess."

Wrapping her arms around Derek's neck, Penelope went on, "And I'm sure you'll shape our next two children into excellent drivers as well."

Groaning, Derek dropped his head onto Penelope's shoulder. "You just had to remind me about the other two, didn't you?"

Laughing, Penelope decided to comfort him with a kiss. Or, at the very least, distract him for a while!


	5. First Mommy Illness

"Come on, beautiful," Derek pleaded. "Please calm down."

As that only got louder cries from his eleven week-old-daughter, Derek sighed and started pacing the length of the living room once again.

"Come on, Alina. Mommy's trying to sleep. She has a really bad cold and Daddy promised her that he could take care of you. Do you want Mommy to think Daddy is a liar? Or torturing you?" Derek muttered the last bit to himself.

Alina buried her weepy face against his chest. Her sobs didn't diminish, but they were muffled just a bit.

Sighing, Derek rubbed his hand up and down her back.

"Alright, Lina, but it's your fault we even got to here."

Clearing his throat, Derek started to sing.

"Hush, little baby, don't say a word. Papa's gonna buy you a mocking bird. If that mocking bird don't sing. Papa's gonna buy you a diamond ring. If that diamond ring turns brass, Papa's gonna buy you a looking glass."

By "looking glass" Alina was sobbing harder and Derek was about ready to join her. He gave up on his attempts at song.

"Okay, beautiful, you're dry, you won't take a bottle, and you're being held."

After Derek quit his stab at music, Alina had calmed down some, but she was still crying.

"You want Mommy, don't you baby?" After kissing her downy head, he added, "I want Mama, too."

Listening to his little girls sniffles, Derek realized that while Alina's mother was off-limits at the moment, his wasn't. Grinning, Derek trotted over to the phone and quickly dialed his mother.

"Don't worry, Lina, Grammy will make it all better."

**

* * *

**"Derek?" Fran asked as she picked up the phone. She had never heard little Alina that upset before. 

"Mom," Derek sighed in relief at hearing his mother's voice. "Penelope's sick. I told her to get some sleep and that I would take care of Alina all by myself. Alina doesn't agree."

Fran laughed.

"Mom!"

"Sorry, sweetheart," Fran apologized, but not very repentantly. "Have you tried taking off your shirt?"

"Mother, it's my daughter who's upset, not my wife."

Fran had to cover the mouthpiece of the phone while she giggled. Once she had herself under control, she said, "Derek, honey, babies like warmth. If you hold her against your bare chest, Alina will better be able to hear your heartbeat. Penelope's heartbeat was a constant for her eleven weeks ago."

"Just a second," Derek said before putting down the phone. At this point, he was willing to try anything.

Setting Alina down on the couch, Derek ripped his shirt off before picking his daughter back up and holding her against his chest, over his heart. Grabbing the phone back, Derek held it in place with his shoulder so he could continue to rub Alina's back.

"She seems to have calmed down a little, but I think she's just wearing herself out," Derek informed his mother.

"Are you bouncing her while you walk?"

"I'm standing still and swaying."

"Bounce and walk, Derek."

Derek did as his mother instructed, but immediately asked, "Why?"

"For nine months Alina was carried within your wife's womb, right?"

"Yes, Mom."

"When was Alina the most active?"

"At night, when Pen was trying to get to sleep," he instantly replied. Derek remembered those sleepless nights as Penelope tried to get comfortable while their daughter tried to bruise her insides.

"The rocking motion of Penelope moving around stimulated Alina's inner-ear and put her to sleep. That's why rocking is the most effective way to get a baby to sleep."

Derek kept up his rocking, bouncing walk, but asked, "How do you know that?"

"The _Discovery Channel_," Fran quickly replied. "It is fascinating what you can learn on that station."

"Funny Mom."

"Is it working?"

"Alina's still sniffling a little. She's still kind of upset."

"Well, you know what you need to do now, don't you?"

"No, Mom, I don't," Derek assured his mother. "I wouldn't have called you if I did."

Derek could practically hear the smile in his mother's voice when she replied.

"I remember when Penelope was about, oh, thirty weeks along. We were talking on the phone and she was asking me if you were restless at night when I was pregnant with you. After I assured her that you were, Penelope told me that when little Alina got too active, you would caress her stomach and sing the same song everytime, to your little girl."

Derek decided he would need to have a talk with his wife when she was feeling better.

"Hearing your voice through your chest ought to sound more like your voice through the womb, Derek."

"I don't think so."

"You would selfishly let your little Alina continue to be upset and wish for her mommy when all that it would take for you to make her feel better would be to sing?"

"Mom, don't try to guilt trip me!"

Fran knew it wouldn't take much to push her son over to her way of thinking.

Softly, she sang into the phone, "A-weema-weh."

"Pen and I are going to have a serious discussion when she feels better," Derek blustered.

"A-weema-weh, A-weema-weh, A-weema-weh, A-weema-weh."

Giving in, Derek quietly sang, "In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonight. In the jungle, the quiet jungle, the lion sleeps tonight."

Amazingly enough, Fran was right. Alina instant quieted at hearing the familiar song. By the time Derek got to "Hush my darling, don't fear my darling, the lion sleeps tonight," Alina was sound asleep.

"Thanks, Mom," he whispered into the phone.

"Anytime, baby," Fran replied before hanging up.

All the way back to Alina's crib, Derek softly hummed "A-weema-weh, A-weema-weh, A-weema-weh, A-weema-weh."

As he backed quietly out of the nursery, Derek decided he was buying his daughter a stuffed lion. Maybe he'd get lucky and find one that played that song.

**

* * *

**_The inner-ear theory Fran tells her son is something I learned in college. So, if it's wrong, then I totally got a free one on that essay test last year! (I so do __**not**__ miss college—especially the tests and papers.) Also, the songs included are _The Lion Sleeps Tonight_, written and recorded by _Solomon Linda_ in 1939, and _Hush, Little Baby_—which, according to _Wikipedia_, is a British Folk Song/Lullaby._


	6. First Phone Calls

Sergeant Cooper came into the room looking distinctly amused. With a grin, she said, "Gentlemen, I have a call on line three for 'Daddy.'"

Her announcement got laughter from most of the people in the conference room. Derek just shook his head while grinning and went back to the file in front of him.

"The young lady assures me her name is 'Roz baby' and that she is sure I can find 'Daddy' for her."

Derek didn't hear anything after "Roz baby." Jumping from his chair like he'd just sat on a pin, Derek barked, "Line three?"

"That's right," Sergeant Cooper agreed in surprise at Agent Morgan's reaction. She never thought of cool, professional agent as a daddy.

"Roz baby," Derek said into the phone by way of a greeting.

A familiar, three-year-old voice squealed in delight.

"Daddy! I told the lady she could-a find you!"

"Rosalyn why didn't you call me on my cell phone?"

"'Cause Mama said not to call you on your phone an' inner-rupt ya. She said if we inner-rupted you it would take you longer to get home ta us. I miss you, Daddy."

Smiling at his three-year-old's logic, he said, "I miss you, too, Roz baby."

Once Derek got pass the cuteness of his daughter hunting him down, he was curious as to how she could do that.

"Rosalyn, how did you know to call me here?"

"I called Mama's office, but Mama wasn't there 'cause she's here giving Keelia a bath. I already took my bath," she proudly informed him.

"Who answered Mama's phone?" Derek patiently asked, knowing from experience that rushing his daughter didn't do any good.

"Mr. Kevin. He told me where you were and how to reach you!"

"Remind me to thank, Kevin," Derek growled.

Rosalyn not understanding that her daddy wasn't happy, chirped, "Okay!"

Derek couldn't help but laugh at his daughter's happy attitude.

"Roz baby, Daddy has to get back to work."

Derek heard a heavy sigh on the other end of the line before Rosalyn sadly replied, "Okay, Daddy." She paused before asking hopefully, "Can you tell me a bedtime story first?"

Before Derek could come up with a way to get off the phone—the local officers were giving him dirty looks, he heard his wife exclaim, "Rosalyn, who are you talking to?"

"Mama, Daddy called!"

Derek laughed and decided not to give his little girl away.

"Derek?" Penelope asked, surprised her husband was calling.

"Hey, baby girl. How are you doing?"

Penelope laughed, "Derek, I'm pregnant, not infirm."

"I know, Mama. I just wanted to know how you were doing in wrangling three we've already got."

"We're all doing great, snuggle bunny. Just a second, your youngest wants to say goodnight."

"Goodnight, Daddy. Come home soon," Rosalyn commanded.

With a grin, Derek replied, "Goodnight, Roz baby. I'll come home as soon I can."

"You promise."

"I promise."

**

* * *

**"Morgan Residence," Derek absently said as he kept his attention on the game. 

"Dad," a familiar and upset voice replied.

Derek instantly turned the game off. This got him another "Dad," only this time it was an angry one from his son.

"Sorry," he replied, tossing his son the remote as he left the room.

"Rosalyn, how's Stanford?"

She was quiet for a minute before saying, "It's all the way across the country and my roommate snores. Daddy, I want to come home."

"Roz baby, you've only been there for a week. Give college some time."

"I'm a geek and I don't have any friends."

"Rosalyn, anyone who won't be your friend because you're brilliant is an idiot."

"Well, then Stanford is full of idiots."

Derek was quiet a moment while trying to decide on his answer.

"Roz, I'll make you a deal."

"Okay," she sniffled.

"Give Stanford a month and if you still hate it there, I will personally come there and bring you home. Okay?"

"Just a month?"

"Yes, but you have to try, sweetheart."

"If I stayed the whole semester, could I still transfer to Georgetown for the summer?"

"Yeah, Roz baby, we'd love to have you closer to home, but your mother and I want what's best for you."

"If you get a case in the area, will you come visit?"

"Are you kidding, if we get a case in the area, your mother will be there too."

Rosalyn started to laugh. "It probably wouldn't be good to pray for a kidnapping, would it?"

"No, but we'll set up the web-cam this weekend, okay?"

"Thanks, Dad."

"Roz, it's okay to be homesick. Home just isn't the same without you."

Derek could hear the grin in his little girl's voice as she said, "Thanks, Daddy."

**

* * *

**Two a.m. Derek groaned upon seeing the alarm clock. "This better be good," he growled into the phone. 

"Daddy, I need you to call Nathan for me. I need you to tell him the wedding is off."

"Rosalyn, is that you?"

"Yes," she answered semi-hysterically. "Do you have Nathan's phone number? If not, I can get it for you. It's…"

"Roz," Derek said, cutting his daughter off. "Where are you?"

"I'm at my apartment. You know, for my last night as a single person before I marry Nathan tomorrow. Since I'm not marrying Nathan, I need to see my landlord to extend my lease. So, you'll call Nathan?"

Derek turned as he felt his wife moving next to him. Tiredly, Penelope said, "Derek, who are you talking to?"

"Our bride to be. She's changed her mind."

"Why?"

"That's a good question. Why aren't you going to marry Nathan anymore, Roz baby?"

"I'm two inches taller than him. Mama's shorter than you. The woman being taller than the man has got to be some sort of affront against nature. It has to be a sign that it's not meant to be. It's best to break up now instead of later. Before kids."

"She's shorter than Nathan," Derek informed Penelope.

Penelope nodded and curled up against him, resting her head on Derek's chest.

"Take care of it, handsome."

Derek pressed a kiss to the top of her head before turning back to his conversation with their engaged daughter.

"Rosalyn, it's just cold feet. Everyone gets them. Nathan's probably having nightmares right now about you changing your mind."

"You didn't have cold feet."

"Are you kidding, I was scared to death."

"Really? Why?" Hearing about her father's cold feet seemed to lessen, or at least take her mind off, hers.

"I was sure you mother would realize she could do better than me."

Penelope squeezed him tightly upon hearing that remark. Derek kissed her head and continued.

"I was so sure Pen would walk up the aisle, take one look at me, and realize I was nothing but a good looking idiot."

"You're brilliant," Penelope muttered.

"It took me way too long to notice how I felt about you, Mama."

"Dad," Rosalyn said, bringing herself back into the conversation. "You couldn't have really thought that!"

"Sweetheart, I saw my father murdered in front of me when I was ten. My mentor…hurt me. Despite having an amazing mother, I didn't know anything about being a husband and father and I didn't have anyone to ask. Even back then, I knew your mother deserved better than me, but I wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth."

"And you think Nathan feels the same way?"

"Roz baby, I know he does. He's the first boy you've ever brought home that I actually respect. Nathan's a good man."

"Yeah, he is."

Snuggling his wife closer to him, Derek added, "And just think, in thirty to forty years, you and Nathan will be trying to calm down your daughter. Just remember to tell her that Grandma was shorter than Grandpa so it's okay."

Rosalyn started to laugh. Finally, she was calm.

Becoming serious once again, Rosalyn said, "Dad, we are lucky to have you. You _are_ the best dad out there."

"Thanks, Roz baby. Now go to sleep. You won't want bags under your eyes tomorrow—or later today."

"I love you, Dad."

"I love you, too, Roz."

As he hung up the phone, Derek glanced at his wife. Penelope was looking up at him very seriously.

"Derek, you may not have had a good example for very long, but you've done a _great_ job as a father _and_ as a husband."

Sliding down so that he could reach her lips, Derek teased, "Baby girl, are you trying to get me to cry now so that I'm all done by the wedding?"

Pulling his head down to hers, Penelope muttered, "Not at all. I think your crying at our daughters' weddings is very, _very_ sexy."

Derek just grinned as their lips met.


	7. First Failure

Derek knew the sound of that cry. Hurrying his steps, he tried not to rundown the small children who got in his way, but his daughter was upset and he really didn't care. Entering her preschool room, Derek slowed down and softly walked over to his sobbing child.

Wrapping his arms around her and cuddling her to his chest, Derek said, "Alina, sweetie, what's wrong?"

It took awhile to distinguish her words among her sobs, but finally, Derek got the gist of it. Lina had had her first disappointment. Scooping her up, Derek settled Alina on his hip. As she clung to him, Derek gathered up her things as best he could.

As father and daughter headed out the door Alina's preschool teacher came hurrying forward with a large piece of construction paper in her hand.

"I'm so sorry, Alina," Miss Thompson offered, trying to rub the three-year-old's back soothingly.

Alina just pulled away and cuddled closer to her daddy. Turning to Derek, Miss Thompson held out the piece of construction paper.

"We had an art contest today."

"Oh," Derek replied, resettling Alina.

"She didn't win. But, Alina did such a good job. She got Honorable Mention!" the teacher added trying, unsuccessfully, to cheer the tyke up.

Throwing Alina's pink backpack over one shoulder, Derek took the picture from Miss Thompson and held it up. Alina turned her head to see her picture and her daddy's reaction.

"Wow, Lina! I don't know how you didn't win. We'll take this home and show Mommy, okay?"

Derek didn't have a clue as to what his daughter had drawn. Though he did guess that it had something to do with Penelope or Clooney based on the yellow scribble.

Alina sniffled, "Will you hang it up at work? Jeff's daddy said he was going to hang up Jeff's picture in his office 'cause he won."

"I don't have an office, sweetie," Derek started to explain. The sniffles that started up again, however, did him in.

"We'll get a special frame for it and I'll hang it up in the bullpen. How's that?"

Alina gave him a small smile. "Can I decorate the frame?"

"Of course," Derek quickly agreed.

**

* * *

**"What is it?" Reid asked as Derek hung up Alina's picture, now framed in a sparkly, finger-painted, pink frame. 

"It's a gift from Alina," Derek replied as he stepped back to make sure the picture was straight.

"But what's the picture of?"

"I have no idea."

"Oh," Reid replied. After a beat he added, "It's kind of nice. Sort of impressionistic."


	8. First Names

"Rhys, what are you doing?" Derek asked as he wandered into the living room to find his son on a laptop staring intently at the screen.

"Dad, did you know my name means 'enthusiasm'?"

Sitting down next to Rhys on the couch, Derek leaned over to see what his son was looking at as he said, "Your mom and I carefully looked over all different names before we picked one for you and your sisters."

Looking up in surprise, Rhys asked, "What to do the girls' names mean?"

"Alina means 'Bright, Beautiful.' Keelia means 'Beautiful and Graceful.' And Rosalyn is our 'Pretty Rose.' "

"So, why did you name me Rhys? Enthusiasm is kind of lame."

Laughing Derek draped an arm over his son's shoulders. "Mama was certain you were going to be a gymnast while she was pregnant with you."

"Are you saying that I was named Rhys because I kicked a lot?" It was obvious from his tone that Rhys was not very impressed with that reasoning.

Derek shook his head and started to smile at the memories running through his head.

"From the instance we saw you we knew you were going to be enthusiastic about life. You were a bundle of energy." Looking back at his son, Derek added, "We were thinking of naming you after my dad."

"Why didn't you? Grandpa was a great man. I wouldn't have minded being named after him."

"Because when your mother and I looked into your little, unfocused eyes we knew you were going to be unique and special and you needed a name to reflect that."

"Cool," Rhys answered with a grin, finally satisfied with his name.

"Why are you asking?"

"English assignment," Rhys replied with a roll of his eyes. "We're supposed to write our autobiographies. I thought it would be cool to have what my name means as part of it."

"Do you need any more stories?" Derek asked, curious.

Looking up from his laptop, Rhys said, "You're not going to make me ask, Mama are you? She'll make me scan in baby pictures and tell stories of me running around the neighborhood naked."

Laughing, Derek hugged his son and promised, "No, I won't tell Mama. But she will eventually find out you know. She always does."

Nodding, Rhys went back to his paper. "Yeah, but hopefully I'll have turned it in by then."


	9. First Escape Attempt

"Mama, I gotta go potty!" six (and half!)-year-old Alina whispered to her mother in what she clearly thought was a whisper.

Smiling, Penelope leaned over to Derek and whispered, "I'm taking Lina to the bathroom."

"Uh, hum," Derek muttered, hearing his wife, but really, his thoughts were elsewhere.

Penelope grabbed Alina's hand and quickly took her dancing child out the door leaving Derek to watch their youngest.

Instead of keeping an eye on their twenty-two month old toddler, who decided to start coloring in the hymnal as soon as Mommy left, Derek was watching the preacher. It wasn't so much that the sermon was interesting—though it wasn't boring, it was the fact that Reverend Jacobs had a booger hanging on the edge of his nose. Derek had gotten back from a case late the night before, and for some reason, that booger had captured his attention.

While Derek was unusually interested in Reverend Jacobs' snot, Keelia decided that she was done making the hymnal pretty and want to explore. So, while her daddy's attention was elsewhere, Keelia made a break for it.

A couple of adolescence boys sitting on the ends of the rows, and bored with sitting still, encouraged the toddler towards the front. They never thought Keelia would make it to the stand, but watching Mr. Morgan scamper after the small child would be entertaining either way.

Luckily, for the teenagers' enjoyment, Derek didn't notice his daughter was gone at all. When Penelope told him she was leaving with Alina, it never occurred to him that she wasn't taking Keelia as well. At least, that was, until he heard his littlest angel's voice.

"Hey!"

Everyone looked around at the shout. Derek started to panic when he realized he couldn't see where Keelia was. Penelope was going to kill him.

Reverend Jacobs, however, knew exactly where the shout came from, especially as he felt a tug on his robes at the same time.

Looking down, he gave the child a grin and said, "Hello."

Keelia just raised her arms and commanded, "Up."

Being quite fond of the Morgan girls, Reverend Jacobs scooped the child up and sat her on his hip. He was about to go back to his sermon, when Keelia then shouted, while waving ecstatically, "Hi Daddy!"

The adolescent boys who had encouraged Keelia forward were now turning red with trying to hold their laughter in.

"You have-a booger," Keelia then announced, poking a small finger at the reverend's nose.

Derek slid down in his seat deciding he was infinitely grateful for his dark skin so that any blushing would not be noticed.

While Derek was trying to hide, Reverend Jacobs' quickly pulled out a handkerchief and wiped his nose before Keelia's little fingers could reach their target.

About then, Penelope came back with Alina and slid into their pew, disturbed by the unnatural quiet of the chapel.

"Derek," she whispered. "Where's Keelia?"

Before he could answer, Alina did. Standing up on the bench, Alina pointed her finger and shouted, "Keelia's in trouble. You shouldn't be up there."

Penelope's head whipped around to find her youngest waving happily from the reverend's arms.

"Watch her," she snapped to Derek, as she sat Alina in his lap. Then, Penelope hurried up the aisle to get their youngest.

Taking a happy Keelia into her arms, Penelope—bright red, because unlike her husband, everyone could see her blush—said, "I'm so sorry."

Smiling, Reverend Jacobs replied, "Not at all. Little children are a gift from God."

Giving him a tight smile, Penelope turned around and headed back their pew. As she walked, she plotted her husband's death.

Seeing that crazy light in his wife's eyes, Derek sighed. He was in so much trouble.


	10. First Crush

"Daddy," Rosalyn yelled as she entered the house.

Smiling Derek greeted his ladies and took their son out of Penelope's arms. Giving him a quick kiss, Penelope herded their oldest two off towards their rooms in an attempt to get their school things actually in their rooms.

Keeping Rhys cuddled in one arm, Derek crouched down to Rosalyn's level.

"Did you enjoy Valentine's Day at preschool, Roz baby?"

"Yep," Roz exclaimed as she held out a pink rose bud. "Look what Uncle Spencer got me."

"Wow, that's nice."

Preening, Rosalyn replied, "He got me the flower because of my name."

"That's very nice," Derek said with a grin. Standing up, he extended his free hand to Rosalyn and led her into the kitchen. "Let's put your flower in a vase so it can get some water."

"Okay," Roz happily agreed.

**

* * *

**Balancing a happy Rhys on one hip, and trying to keep the baby from grabbing everything in sight, Derek filled up a small bud vase with some water. 

As he handed the vase to Rosalyn for her flower, Rosalyn said with a happy sigh, "I'm going to marry Uncle Spencer when I grow up."

Luckily for Rhys Derek remembered to hang onto him when his nerveless hand dropped the vase.

Rosalyn looking up at her father with a scowl said, "Daddy, you could have hurt my flower."

Taking her rose bud and the barely caught vase, Rosalyn left the kitchen to go put her flower on her bedside table.

Sitting down in the now empty kitchen, Derek sat Rhys on his lap. Looking the baby in the eyes, Derek said, "Never have daughter, son. They will turn your hair gray."

Penelope, whom Derek hadn't heard entering the kitchen, wrapped her arms around the back of his shoulders. Leaning forward to see her husband's face, she said, "Like you would get rid of even one of them."

"No, but I may have to have a serious talk with Reid."

Penelope just shook her head and laughed.


	11. First Motorcycle Ride

"Hey Dad, can I borrow the motorcycle?" Rhys asked with a grin.

Not looking away from his newspaper, Derek replied, "No."

"Ah, come on Dad," Rhys whined.

Lowering his paper, Derek looked at his son and raised an eyebrow.

"Why do you want it?"

Grinning goofily, Rhys sighed, "I've got a date."

Raising his paper back up, Derek firmly said, "Then definitely no!"

"Dad! Please," his son begged.

"You don't have a motorcycle license."

"It can't be that different from driving a car."

"If it was, there wouldn't be a separate test."

Sighing, Rhys regarded his father for some moments before asking, "Why won't you let me get my motorcycle license?"

Putting the paper aside, Derek said, "Son, motorcycles are dangerous—especially when you're riding with a girl. She starts to stroke your chest, you concentrate on the sensation of her touch instead of the road, and the next thing you know you're in the emergency room."

The father/son discussion was then interrupted by the sound of Penelope's laughter.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "Your father is right, Rhys, motorcycles aren't a toy. We almost got in a wreck once and your father has been driving that bike for years."

Sighing in disappointment, but knowing when he was outnumbered, Rhys nodded and left to call his date. He hoped she'd still go out with him without the promised motorcycle ride.

Derek and Penelope watched their son trudge out of the room. Once they were alone, Penelope slid onto Derek's lap and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Teasing his lips with hers, she asked, "Why didn't you tell him the real reason he can't take the motorcycle?"

"I don't think Rhys needs to know that Alina and Rosalyn are the products of two of our previous motorcycle rides," Derek replied, right before capturing Penelope's lips in a fierce kiss.

Pulling back she whispered, "You'll get the keys?"

"Grab your shoes," was his quick rejoinder.


	12. First Felony

_My dad did this with me, only he didn't have the excuse of an older sibling to distract him—mainly because I am the oldest!_

**

* * *

**"Daddy, my shoe is untied," Alina loudly complained. 

"Just a second, Lina. I have to get your sister," a frazzled Derek replied.

"Daddy! You can't tie my shoe and hold Keelia."

"Right, sorry."

Turning away from the baby, Derek knelt down next to the car and tied Alina's shoe. He was almost done when a rather impatient woman tried to get past. Moving, so as to not get himself nor his daughter slammed into the car, Derek pushed the car door shut.

Once the woman finally passed and Alina's shoe was tied to her satisfaction, Derek stood up and grabbed the car door only to find it locked. Sighing, Derek started patting down his pockets in search of his keys. Not feeling them, Derek started over, only panicking more when he realized he couldn't find his cell phone either.

"Lina," he said to his big eyed, five-year-old. "Do you know where Daddy's keys or phone are?"

"Yep!" she replied proudly. "Keelia has them!"

Looking through the car window, Derek found that Alina was right. Evidently, he sat the wanted items in Keelia's lap as he started to unbuckle the car seat.

"Ah, crap!"

"Ah, crap!" Alina happily repeated.

"Daddy word, sweetie," Derek scolded absently as he looked around for something to jam the car open with.

Realizing the only thing he could do was break a window, and he wouldn't risk his infant daughter that way, Derek groaned as he realized what he would have to do.

Looking into the backseat, Derek said, "Keelia, sweetheart, don't panic! Daddy will be right back!"

Keelia, despite his reassurances, didn't seem the least bit interested. In fact, she had just discovered her toes and found them much more interesting that her panicky daddy.

"I'll stay with her," Alina happily volunteered, proud to show off her big sister skills.

"Oh, no you won't," Derek countered as he picked his oldest daughter up and rushed into the store, looking for a phone.

**

* * *

**"Excuse me," Derek said to the customers in front of him in the customer service line. 

Everyone ignored him.

"I just need to borrow a phone," he tried again.

No one was interested.

"Oh, come on! My daughter is locked in the car with my keys. I need a phone!"

"Keelia's not old enough to stay by herself," Alina added.

A young man in line, who looked like he did his hair with a blender, walked over to Derek and whispered, "I have a _Slim Jim_ in my trunk."

"Thank you!" Derek breathed as he hauled the teen outside.

**

* * *

**With one swift movement, the goofy teen had Derek's car unlocked. Not wasting anytime, Derek threw open the door, unbuckled Keelia, and pulled her into his arms. Keelia was surprised, but as she had been having a good time gumming on Daddy's phone, she wasn't upset while Daddy and Alina were gone. 

"Thank you," Derek told the kid.

"You're welcome, man," the boy said before hot footing it back to his car. He didn't want anyone to know about his illegal ownership of a _Slim Jim_.

"Daddy," Alina said impatiently. "Can we go buy my dinosaur chicken nuggets now?"


	13. First Team

"Rhys, watch the ball!" Penelope called to their easily distracted four-year-old.

Derek and Penelope thought it would be a good idea to enroll their children in sports. Especially since all four of them had energy to spare. Though they never did agree who their children got all the excess energy from.

At any rate, this particular Saturday found Derek and Penelope on the sidelines watching Rhys play soccer. To be more accurate would be to say that Derek and Penelope watched their son run around in circles, throw grass in the air like confetti, and generally never be anywhere near the ball at anytime. As most of the other four-year-olds weren't anyplace near the ball either, the disappointment over their son's lack of interest was lessened.

"He's got your athletic ability," Derek teased.

Penelope smiled but elbowed her husband in the side.


	14. First Dance

The hardest thing Derek ever had to deal with was seeing his children upset. Right now, as a chaperon at the Adams Junior High School's Valentine's Day Dance and being forced to watch Keelia be passed over by one boy after another in favor of another girl was killing him.

"Oh," Penelope whispered to him. "If only Keelia had a little more confidence. Boys aren't going to ask a girl they don't think will say yes."

Derek just growled and muttered something under his breath about teenage boys.

Just then, a familiar song came on and gave Derek an idea. Leaning over, he gave his wife a quick kiss and said, "I'll be right back, baby girl."

Before Penelope could stop him, Derek was across the room and standing before their daughter.

"Can I have this dance?" Derek gallantly asked his daughter.

Keelia rolled her eyes, but smiled and took her father's hand.

Soon, they were out in the middle of the floor dancing away. Everyone else who was dancing slowly moved out of the way to watch the talented Morgans dance.

When the song ended, several boys came over clamoring to dance with shy teen. Now that Keelia was smiling and laughing her personality shown through and she suddenly seemed much more desirable.

Once Derek was standing next to his wife once again, Penelope reached up and kissed him.

"That was sweet, handsome."

"Don't distract me, goddess," Derek instructed, not taking his eyes off his daughter and her new dance partner. "If that little creep's hand moves any lower I'm taking it off at the wrist."


	15. First Death

"Derek. Derek," Penelope said more forcefully as she shook her husband awake.

Blinking his way into awareness, Derek turned towards his wife's voice and moaned, "What?"

"Derek, Clooney's dead."

Sitting up, he repeated, "Clooney's dead."

"Yes," Penelope started to sob.

Pulling her into his arms, Derek rocked her back and forth and decided that he couldn't wait until the hormone mood-swings ended. He knew Penelope would miss Clooney anyway, but her tears seemed worse when she was pregnant.

"Where's Clooney?"

Pulling back and wiping away her tears, Penelope replied, "Sleeping next to Alina, like always. I went in to check on her and found him."

Kissing her forehead, Derek got up and headed for their five-year-old's room. There was no way he want Alina to wake up next to her dead friend. The problem was what they were going to tell her.

**

* * *

**Clooney was right were he always was, no matter where he started the night, snuggled up in Alina's bed with Alina cuddled next to him. 

Penelope had followed Derek back to Alina's room and helped him to carefully shift their daughter so he could remove Clooney without waking her.

They had almost made it and were to the door when a little voice, sleepily asked, "Daddy, where are you taking Clooney?"

Derek and Penelope exchanged a look, but neither knew what to say. Penelope hurried back to the bed and sat down next to Alina, pulling her into a hug.

"Sweetie," Penelope started, brushing back Alina's curls. "Clooney's not with us anymore."

"Daddy's holding him!"

Derek laid Clooney on the floor and then crouched down next to Alina's bed.

Taking one of her little hands in his, Derek asked, "Lina, do you remember when Uncle Spencer took you to the museum and you saw those tigers?"

"Uncle Spencer said they used to be alive but now their stuffed," Alina replied.

"That's the same thing, sweetheart. Clooney's no longer alive."

Alina thought about this for a second before asking, "Are we going to stuff Clooney?"

"No, sweetie," Penelope laughed. "No, we're going to bury Clooney."

"Like Gamma and Grandpa Garcia and Grandpa Morgan?"

"That's right," Derek agreed.

Once again, Alina sat quietly thinking before she ventured another question.

"Will Gamma and Grandpa Garcia and Grandpa Morgan take care of him?"

"Of course," Penelope assured her.

Seeing those little eyes look at him questioningly, Derek kissed his daughter's forehead and said, "Grandpa Morgan is taking Clooney for a run right now."

"Good. Clooney likes to run. Do you think he'll miss me?"

"I know he does."

"I miss him, too."

Penelope hugged their daughter tighter while she tried to blink back tears.

**

* * *

**"Pen, Lina, come here! I have a surprise," Derek called as he came home later that week. 

Lina came bounding into the room not far ahead her mother. Once she saw her Daddy's surprise, however, she squealed and went running to him.

"Daddy, it's a puppy!"

"I know," Derek replied with a grin. "He needed a home."

"Look Mommy! A puppy!"

Penelope smiled but stayed standing, her baby bump making it hard to crouch down.

"What are you going to name him?" she asked their daughter.

Alina blinked and looked from her mother to her father in confusion. Finally, she asked, "Didn't his mommy name him?"

Kneeling down next to their precocious five-year-old, Derek replied, "Lina, we can't speak dog. We don't know what his mommy named him."

"Then how did you know Clooney's name?"

Derek and Alina looked up at Penelope when they heard her bark of laughter.

"Sorry," she said with a grin. "Baby, Daddy names all his dogs Clooney."

Alina was quiet for a minute before saying, "Oh! Like I call you Mommy and Daddy but Uncle Spencer calls you Morgan and Garcia!"

Derek and Penelope exchanged a surprised glance before looking back at their very proud of herself, daughter.

"Yes," Derek finally agreed. "Just like that."

Looking down at the puppy, Alina patted his ears and said, "We're going to call you Clooney, but you're going to have to learn English so you can tell us your real name."

Neither Derek nor Penelope would look at each other as it was everything they could do to not burst out laughing.


	16. First Black Eye

_Thank you Leigh59 for the great idea that became this chapter! I hope my execution of it does your idea justice._

**

* * *

**Usually, Derek was thrilled to see his wife walking towards him. With the angry scowl on her pretty face, however, Derek really hoped he was not the one who was in trouble. 

"_Your_ son has just been suspended for fighting!"

"Why? What happened?" Derek asked, completely surprised with this development. Rhys was the calmest of all four of their children.

"I don't know anything except that the other boy went to the emergency room," Penelope snapped, gripping her keys tighter. "I'm leaving now to go pick him up from school. Reid, will you give Derek a ride home tonight?"

"Sure," Reid quickly replied. He didn't want to be on the wrong side of an angry Penelope Garcia-Morgan either.

"Penelope, do you want me to go instead?"

Sighing, Penelope released some of her anger and shook her head no.

"I want to make sure Rhys is alright. I might kill him afterwards, but I want to make sure he's alright."

Taking a chance with his life, Derek leaned over and gave his wife a quick peck. Luckily, she returned his affection before storming off to ream out their only son.

Once she was out of earshot, Reid turned to Derek and said, "I would _not_ want to be Rhys right now."

"Oh yeah," Derek quickly agreed.

**

* * *

**Reid didn't wait for his friend to get inside before driving off. Looking at the car squealing away down the street, Derek muttered to himself, "Thanks a lot, Reid." 

Taking a deep breath, Derek gathered his courage and went inside. As Penelope hadn't called him to tell him what had happened with Rhys, Derek knew she was still too angry to speak and that worried him.

Rosalyn met him at the door with a look of barely suppressed glee. As she and Rhys were the "babies" of the family, they liked to see each other get in trouble. It was an annoying quality, especially right now with Penelope as angry as she was.

"Dad!"

"Roz, where's your mother?" Derek quickly preempted.

Mirth draining from her face, Rosalyn pointed over her shoulder. "Mom's making dinner."

"More like beating dinner," Keelia said from her position on the couch behind a textbook. "Mom's going to over tenderize the meat."

"Thank you, girls," Derek replied dryly before heading into the kitchen.

Keelia was right. It looked like Penelope was trying to turn the beef into mash.

Not looking up from what she was doing, Penelope growled, "Your son won't tell me what happen!"

Throwing down the mallet, she looked up, finally meeting her husband's eyes. Seeing her watery eyes, Derek realized that she was worried, not angry. That was worse. At least to him.

Pulling her into his arms, Derek rubbed a hand up and down his wife's back. "Baby, I'll talk to him. I won't leave him alone until he tells me, okay?"

"Okay," she sniffled into his chest. "What if Rhys is getting involved with…bad things, Derek? He's only thirteen!"

"We'll lock him in his room until he straightens up."

Pulling back, Penelope wiped the tears from her cheeks. "Why can't they stay small? They're so much easier to understand and keep safe when they're little."

Brushing away a tear she missed, Derek replied, "So they can one day give us grandchildren that give them as much trouble as their parents gave us."

"Well, as long as there's a good reason," Penelope replied with a water smile.

**

* * *

**Knocking on his son's door, Derek slowly opened the door to find Rhys sitting at his desk and doing math homework while trying to hold an icepack on his eye. 

"How's your eye doing?"

"It stopped throbbing," Rhys sighed in reply.

Shutting the door behind him, Derek took a seat on Rhys bed and waited until his son turned to face him.

"Do you want to tell me why you got into a fight?"

"No," Rhys said, looking at his feet.

"Rhys!" Derek sternly reprimanded.

Sighing, Rhys slowly looked back up at his father.

"Will you promise not to tell mom?"

"No."

Realizing that he wasn't in the position to make demands, Rhys looked back down at his shoes and muttered something Derek couldn't possible understand.

"What?"

"I was defending…someone."

"A girl?" Derek asked cautiously.

Glad to have found a way out, Rhys head shot up and he started to nod. "Yes! It was all about a girl. Can I go back to my homework now?"

"Rhys Edward Morgan…"

"Andrew Reynolds was saying that he would like to 'do' Rosalyn. He said he was sure that someone as fiery as her would be a 'good lay.'"

Derek could see Rhys getting angry just thinking about the other boy's comments. Knowing he would have done the same thing for his sisters and wishing to murder Andrew Reynolds for his comments himself, Derek didn't blame his son.

"Dad, Roz isn't an object! I don't care if it was the locker room. He shouldn't have said that crap about a girl—Roz or not!"

Smiling, Derek leaned forward and squeezed Rhys' shoulder.

"Next time, don't beat him to a pulp. Stop at detention worthy fighting instead of suspension, okay?"

Grinning, Rhys quickly agreed.

As Derek started to leave the room, Rhys asked, "Dad, what are you going to do now?"

"I'm going to tell you mother what happened so she won't worry about you becoming a delinquent, and then I'm going to help her _adjust_ Andrew's permanent record."

"Never mess with a Morgan woman," Rhys replied with a grin.

Smiling back, Derek agreed, "They're scary when they're angry. Especially your mom when she's defending her babies!"


	17. First Christmas Volunteer Work

_So, I actually have a list of ideas I've been working on…sort of. Parts are all over the place—and that doesn't sound odd at all. What I really mean is that I will have more updates on __**this **__story but who knows when. I've been a little flakey lately._

* * *

"We are just _sooo_ glad that you volunteered to help us during this busy time of year," Mrs. Carpenter, the principal of Rosalyn's preschool, gushed. "So many parents think that their tuition should be enough and don't take the time to help out their children."

Seeing her husband tuning out the effusive woman, Penelope discreetly elbowed Derek in the side while continuing to smile brightly. Rubbing his side, Derek risked giving his wife a quick glare before turning his attention to the principal.

"We're happy to help," he interrupted. "We want our girls to know we're there for them _anytime_ of the year."

Patrick 'Pat' Brown, the President of the Board of Trustees grinned brightly as Derek's comment.

"Good to know! Good to know! Of course I guess that's why you're Captain Morgan, huh?"

"Arrrg," Penelope growled under her breath.

Ignoring his wife's pirate impersonation, Derek gave Pat a tight smile as he said, "Special Agent Morgan. We don't have captains in the FBI."

"Oh," Pat replied, obviously disappointed. "That would be more fun."

"The rum would definitely be a plus," Penelope laughed.

"Huh?" Pat asked, not getting the joke.

Mrs. Carpenter, trying to pull the conversation back on track, said, "Special Agent Morgan, we've got you and Rosalyn down for December 17. Don't worry about the Santa suit not fitting like it should, we're promoting a healthy Santa."

"Santa?" Derek slowly replied.

"Yes," Mrs. Carpenter confirmed.

"On the seventeenth."

"That's correct," she happily agreed.

"I don't think…"

"You're available," Penelope preempted.

"You don't…"

"I talked to Hotch. You're available."

Derek gave his wife a look of disgust but she just happily smiled back at him.

Groaning, Derek turned back to the school's representatives and tried again, "Santa isn't black…"

"Rosalyn signed you up," Penelope interrupted.

"That's correct," Mrs. Carpenter quickly agreed. "We have the _cutest_ elf outfit for her. She's told her entire class and most of the school how excited she that she and her Daddy are collecting money for the children's hospital."

"She also said you two would get the most money," Pat helpfully added.

"I'd give," Penelope informed her husband with that saucy look in her eye he knew so well.

"Morning or afternoon?" Derek asked, giving in.

* * *

Derek would give Mrs. Carpenter this, Roz baby was the cutest little elf he'd ever seen. And if he could see his little girl as an elf without having to wear an itchy beard himself the day would be perfect.

"We're going to win, aren't we, Daddy?" Rosalyn asked with the confidence only a four-year-old could really achieve.

"It's not a contest, Roz baby. We're trying to help those sick children who have to spend their Christmas in the hospital."

"But we're also going to win, right?"

It was times like this that Derek wished his little girl didn't get both his _and_ Penelope's stubborn streak. Twenty minutes later he was _also_ wishing Rosalyn didn't get their impatience and need for action when yet another person walked by without bothering to put anything in their bucket.

"Daddy, this isn't right! These people are mean!"

"I know, Roz baby, but…"

Rosalyn was no longer listening to her father as she launched herself at a middle-aged man who walked past them without even looking their way.

"Hey, you big jerk!" Rosalyn screamed as she attacked the man's knee. "You give money to the children's hospital now or my Daddy's going to take his gun and shoot off all your toes!"

"Rosalyn!" Derek exclaimed.

Seeing the large, muscular man who was 'Daddy,' Rosalyn's prey ripped his wallet out of his pocket, tossed all his bills into the till, and ran off before Derek could apologize.

Giving her Daddy a proud grin, Rosalyn yelled, "Merry Christmas," after her first victim.

* * *

"Hello, my sexy Santa," Penelope teased as she answered her phone. "How goes the donation gathering?"

"We're going to have to have a talk with Rosalyn when we get home, Mama," Derek's weary voice replied.

"And which talk is this?"

"Why extortion and violence may be effective but how they aren't the answer."

It was several minutes before Penelope could stop laughing long enough to give her husband a coherent answer…much to Derek's great disgust.


	18. First Returns

_I work in a book store and in a five hour period we (me and the other cashier) did 6.6 returns an hour. During a pause (when I actually calculated the returns) I came up with this idea._

* * *

Coming into the living room, Derek found his youngest (and only son) sitting next to the coffee table and using a bright red crayon while he intently wrote on a wrinkled sheet of paper. Smiling indulgently, Derek folded himself down on the floor next to his boy and asked, "Rhys, what are you up to?"

"I'm writing a thank-you letter to Santa," Rhys informed his father without looking up from his work.

"That's very nice of you," Derek replied, his heart warming at his five-year-old son's precociousness.

"Mama says that you have to be nice before you're mean."

Brow furrowing in thought, Derek asked, "Rhys, what _exactly_ are you writing?"

Finally looking up, familiar brown eyes met as Rhys' little shoulders sagged in disappointment. Knowing he was caught out, Rhys pushed his letter over to his father with a heavy and highly dramatic sigh.

Raising an eyebrow, Derek picked up the letter and quickly read through the childish scrawl. Thirty seconds later, Derek carefully schooled his features into a look of total neutrality and asked, "Rhys, why are you trying to return Roz's dolls to Santa?"

Looking sulky, Rhys defended himself with, "Roz says Santa likes her best because he got her the holiday _Barbie_ with the sparkly dress and he only got me the _Power Ranger_ Ultra Force Team."

"I didn't realize you wanted _Holiday Barbie_," Derek calmly countered.

"I don't want _Barbie_," Rhys yelled with a disgust lacing his voice that only a five-year-old boy could possibly manage.

"Then why are you upset? Santa got you exactly what you wanted."

" 'Cause Roz was being mean! Santa doesn't like her better! Does he?" Rhys asked in a suddenly small voice.

Pulling his son onto his lap and into a tight hug, Derek assured him, "No, Rhys. Santa doesn't like Roz better. Santa likes all of us equally."

"Are you sure?" Rhys asked, this time with pure skepticism. " 'Cause Lina and Kee and Roz are all icky girls."

"I'm sure," Derek laughingly informed his son.

Sighing heavily, Rhys informed his father, "I wish I had brothers instead-a sisters."

"I know what you mean, buddy. I only have sisters, too."

"But, Auntie Desiree and Sarah are cool!"

"One day you'll think the same thing about Lina, Kee, and Roz," Derek assured his son.

Rhys didn't bother to verbally answer, but it was clear from the look on his face that he thought his father was nuts.


	19. First Time Daddy Wasn't There

"Daddy! I want Daddy," three-year-old Alina sobbed.

"I know, baby," Penelope assured their daughter. "Daddy wishes he was here too."

"I want Daddy!"

"Alina, sweetie, tell Mommy what's wrong," Penelope pleaded while continuing with rocking the upset little girl.

"I had a bad dream," Alina wailed at the top of her lungs. "Daddy's not here and now the monsters will get me."

"No they won't, baby. Mommy won't let them."

Looking up at her mother with big, shimmering eyes, Alina sobbed, "You don't know how to scare the monsters away."

"Why don't you tell me what Daddy does and I do the same things?" Penelope offered.

"Mommy, you're not the same scary as Daddy."

"I'm not the same scary?" Penelope asked with a slight grin, tucking a wet curl behind her daughter's ear.

"No," Alina assured her. "Daddy has a gun. You only have computers."

Eyebrows raised, Penelope asked, "Daddy uses his gun to scare the monsters away?"

"He did once. Now the monsters know not to mess with Daddy and are scared when they see him coming."

"What if we call Daddy and put the speakerphone on? That should scare the monsters away if they can hear him yell at them."

"But, he won't be there!"

"Monsters are pretty dumb. I'm sure just hearing your Daddy's voice will be enough to scare them away."

"Okay," Alina agreed, but it was obvious that she didn't think it would work.

* * *

"Agent Morgan," Derek absently answered as he flipped open his phone.

"Daddy the monsters are in my room and you aren't here to scare them away!"

Hearing his little girl's scared voice over the line, Derek felt park of his heartbreak.

"Lina…"

"Derek," Penelope's voice interrupted as their home phone suddenly sent onto speakerphone. "Sweetness, we were hoping you could give the monsters a good talking to over the phone."

"Sure, baby girl." Ignoring the curious looks he was getting from his fellow law enforcement agents, Derek stern voice said, "Listen up all you monsters."

"Under the bed and in the closet, Daddy," Alina helpfully piped up.

Grinning, he added, "That's right. All the monsters, under the bed and in the closet. Don't make me take you out. You leave my girls alone. You got that!"

"What do you think?" Derek could hear Penelope's voice ask. "Are the monsters all gone?"

"I think so," Alina's small voice replied.

Attention back to the phone, Penelope told her husband, "Thank you, my chocolate hunk."

"Goodnight, baby girl."

"Love you."

Hanging up the phone, Derek turned his attention his fellow team members who had stopped cleaning up to listen in.

"Alina had a bad dream," he informed them. Everyone nodded with understanding and went back to their tasks. Derek, however, felt that they really didn't understand.

* * *

Penelope raised her head, blinking sleepily as she looked around the darkened room. Reaching a hand out, she asked, "Handsome?"

Grabbing her hand in his, Derek sat down on the edge of the bed and whispered, "Hey, Goddess. I didn't mean to wake you."

"I don't sleep as deep without you," she answered sitting up. Upon giving her husband a quick kiss, Penelope pulled back and looked him over. "Baby, what's wrong?"

"I wasn't there for her. My daughter needed me and I wasn't there for her."

"Oh, Derek," Penelope sighed, drawing her husband into her embrace. "The phone call worked just as well. Alina fell right back to sleep and slept the entire night."

"Penelope, I should have been here."

"No," she firmly countered, pulling back. Holding on to Derek's chin to force him to look into her eyes, Penelope said, "No, you were right where you needed to be. Lina may have had a nightmare and wanted her big, strong Daddy to save her in person, but you were out protecting us from the _real_ monsters. Derek, if you let yourself get eaten up by this…if you hang onto these feelings then you'll _never_ be there when we _really_ need you. I don't want to lose you to guilt," she added, caressing his cheek.

Smiling softly, Derek leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. Leaning his forehead against his wife's, he said, "Mama, what would I do without you?"

"Become no fun at all," Penelope teased back with a cocky grin.


	20. First Major Trouble

_A/N: Once again, Leigh59 gave me an idea I had to try! Sorry it took me so long to get it written._

_For reference purposes: Alina—21, Keelia—16, Rosalyn—14, Rhys—11_

_And, this chapter happens two years before Rhys starts beating up boys who talk trash about his sisters! (Chapter 16)_

* * *

"There is my sexy wife," Derek said with a sleepy grin. He and the rest of the BAU team had arrived at the airport around four in the morning after a long and hard case in San Diego. In all honesty, Penelope was surprised to see the hunk of chocolate goodness that was her husband already up and about, twelve fifteen though it may be.

"All rested up, sugar?" Penelope flirted back as she continued to sort the large pile of their family's laundry.

"I couldn't stand being away from you any longer, sweetness."

"You sweet talking…pot?!"

Blinking in confusion, Derek repeated, "Pot. Baby girl…"

"Derek," Penelope interrupted, suddenly very serious. Raising her right hand, she handed him the joint she had just found in the pocket of their sixteen-year-old daughter's jeans.

"This is marijuana," Derek said in a dumbfounded voice.

"I know," his wife replied in a clearly worried voice.

"Do you think…"

"I don't know…"

"Damn it!" Derek raged. "Damn it! One of our babies clearly needs help and we didn't notice."

Crossing her arms over her ample chest, Penelope added, "If Keelia is searching for attention, she's about to get some."

**

* * *

**"Rosalyn, Rhys, go to your rooms and shut the doors," Derek commanded as soon as the teens came bopping through the door.

While both previously mentioned Morgan children were beyond curious as to what was happening, both knew their father would kill them if they didn't do as he said. For once, both teens rushed to do as they were told the very first time without any arguing.

Keelia, left alone with her parents, looked confused and a little worried. Shifting her backpack higher on her shoulder, Keelia asked, "Do you want me to go to my room, too?"

"Sit down," Derek coolly instructed.

Taking pity on their now frightened daughter, Penelope patted the cushion next to her on the couch, adding, "We need to talk to you, Keelia."

Quickly, the quiet teen shuffled over to sit by her mother, dropping her bag on the floor. Looking back at her pacing father, Keelia said nothing for fear of making him angrier. In all sixteen years of her life, Keelia had never seen her father this upset.

"Damn it, Keelia Maria! What the hell is wrong with you?" Derek shouted as he finally came to a stop in front of the couch.

"Derek," Penelope quickly reprimanded as Keelia shrank against the couch cushions.

Seeing fear in the eyes of one of his baby girls, Derek stepped back and rubbed and agitated hand over his head, trying to calm his worry and fear that was being manifested as a blazing temper.

Knowing that her husband was too upset to actually speak reasonably, Penelope took over.

"Keelia, I was doing laundry today and found something in one of your pockets."

Both parents stared at their child, waiting for a reaction. Keelia, for her part, was just confused as to what they could have found that would have gotten her father so upset.

"Do you recognize this?" Derek finally snapped, holding up the marijuana cigarette.

Keelia's eyes widened and she tried to subtly scoot away from her mother. Penelope, however, quickly clamped a hand down on her second eldest's arm and held the girl in place.

"Where did you get this, Keelia Maria?" Penelope demanded, finally sounding angry.

"A party," Keelia whispered, looking down at her hands.

"A party?!" Derek demanded. "What the hell kind of party were you at?"

"You knew about it," his daughter bit back, finally looking up. "It was the orchestra party last week."

"The one at your conductor's house?" Penelope asked.

"Did he know what was going on?" Derek barked.

"Yes, at Mr. Harris's house. No, he didn't know. Around eight, he sent us all to the backyard and never came back."

"He left twenty to thirty teenagers unsupervised. Oh, I am giving him a piece of my mind!" Penelope growled.

Derek, angry at the teacher he thought they could trust, but even more upset that his daughter had drugs, asked, "When did the drugs come into play, Keelia?"

"Well, Tiffany—the cellist that dresses like a hooker…"

"Keelia," he warned.

"She thought drugs might make the party more interesting. But, Daddy," Keelia pleaded, "I didn't smoke or snort or swallow or whatever. I swear I've never taken drugs."

"That doesn't explain how you have them on you," Penelope reasonably pointed out.

Keelia seemed to deflate and looked down at her hands that she was twisting nervously in her lap. "I don't fit in anywhere. I didn't want them to all think I was a looser so I accepted the drugs. But I didn't _take_ them. I promise," she earnestly added.

"Not good enough," Derek declared. "What if next time you don't just shove them in your pocket."

"Daddy, I wouldn't! You know me…"

"No," her father interrupted. "I don't think I do." Seeing his daughter's crushed look, Derek added, "I never would have thought you'd take drugs. I always thought you would run away from a bad situation and call me or your mother or some other adult you could trust. I never thought you would hang around and pretend to be involved in something you know is wrong."

Taking over, Penelope said, "Keelia, I know that everyone thinks that marijuana is no big deal, but it's still a drug. It affects memory, judgment, and perception. Taking it could cause you to do something you would never normally do."

"We're worried about you, Kee," Derek said, finally using his nickname for her.

Keelia almost cried in relief when she heard her beloved pet name.

"What are you going to do?" she tearfully whispered.

"Well, you're grounded for the next two weeks," Penelope stated. "No television, no computer, no reading for fun. You go to school and come straight home to your room, nowhere else. You can do your homework and practice your viola but that's it. Understand?"

"Yes, ma'am," Keelia quickly replied, glad that it wasn't worse.

"Oh, we aren't done," Derek coolly replied.

Keelia looked up at her father, clearly worried.

"After the grounding is over, you're going to spend your nights and weekends, for at least the next three months, with Reid helping him with his volunteer work at the drug rehabilitation center."

"What?"

Crossing his arms Derek glowered down at his daughter. "Before you consider taking drugs I think it would be best for you to know exactly what happens to people who do. It isn't pretty, Keelia. And _maybe_, after all of that, we'll consider trusting you again."

Looking down at her hands, Keelia nodded as tears started to slip down her cheeks.

* * *

One hundred and four days later, Derek said, as he crawled into bed next to his wife, "Kee's been doing well. Reid says she's been a real help."

"I think she's learned her lesson," Penelope agreed, slathering lotion along her arms. Laughing, she added, "Rhys and Roz, however, don't seem to know what to think of our new policy."

"I thought they enjoyed spending time with us one on one?"

"They do," she assured her husband. "But they are teenagers. Spending one day a month with the parents is just so uncool."

"Yeah, well I would rather they be uncool than dead or in trouble," he sulkily countered.

"So would I," Penelope agreed, leaning over to give her chocolate goodness a kiss.

A knock on their bed room door interrupted the moment and Derek pulled back with a groan as his wife called, "Come in."

Keelia stood nervously in the doorway, still unsure of herself in front of her father.

Seeing this, Derek mentally sighed and motioned her inside, saying, "Come sit down, Kee."

After carefully closing the door behind her, Keelia crawled up on the end of her parents' bed. Looking down at her hands, she said, "Uncle Spencer said that I only have two more days of community service left."

"That's right," Penelope agreed.

"Are you excited to have free time again?" Derek asked, trying to connect with his daughter.

"No," she cried, suddenly bursting into tears. "I'll keep doing it if you'll love me again! I'm so sorry, Daddy. I didn't mean to make you stop trusting me. I've seen what the people Uncle Spencer go through when they try to give up drugs. I don't want to go down that path. I won't do it again. I promise. I'm so sorry."

Feeling more horrible than he ever had, Derek leaned forward and pulled Keelia into a tight hug. Rocking her gently, he recalled that his Kee was the most sensitive of his and Penelope's children. Lina, Roz, and Rhys might be upset at getting in trouble, but not a one of them would equate him being silent and angry as him no longer loving them. Of course, Roz and Rhys would never feel as bad about what they did wrong as Kee either.

Kissing the top of Keelia's head, Derek hugged her tighter. "Kee girl, I will **never** stop loving you. No matter what you do you will always be one of my girls. Got that?"

"Okay," she mumbled against her father's chest.

Stroking her daughter's hair, Penelope added, "Keelia, you do understand why you lost our trust, don't you?"

"I tried to hide what happened at the party from you."

"If you told us when you got home," Derek agreed, "we wouldn't have been nearly as upset." After a pause, he added, "Kee girl, we worry about you. When we thought you were doing drugs, it scared us to death."

"We saw what Reid went through when he had a drug problem," Penelope pointed out. "We never wanted to see another family member go through that."

Still cuddled against her father, Keelia said, "Uncle Spenser told me about how hard it was. He said that's why he decided to do the volunteer work. To help others like he was helped by his family at the BAU."

"Kee," Derek said, "We will _always_ love you. I promise. Whatever happens in your life, I want you to **know** you can count on that."

Keelia tipped back her head to look up into her father's eyes for the first time since she'd be grounded. Seeing the love he had for her there, Keelia nodded and hugged him tight.

"I love you, too, Daddy."

Feeling his body finally relax since Penelope found the pot, Derek looked up into his wife's eyes and truly smiled.


	21. First Day of School

_A/N: I only have twenty-four ideas left to go! I'm __**slowly**__ working my way through my idea list._

* * *

In many ways Rhys was a whole ton of firsts—and onlys, but that was only because he was the baby. Rhys was the first son after three daughters. He was the first cesarean section after three natural births (being as that lazy kid was upside-down and backwards and just wouldn't come). He was the first one to finger paint the living room (though Derek blamed Roz for that one as she'd convinced Rhys it was a good idea). And more importantly, Rhys was the first child that Derek felt like he had to actively watch and convince that playing with dolls was a bad thing.

Rhys' first day of kindergarten was also a first in comparison to his older sisters.

Alina was excited to meet new people and try new things – an adventurous spirit Derek claimed she got from her mother. After making sure that her Daddy would be there as soon as class ended to hear all about her day, Lina happily trotted into the unfamiliar room.

Keelia was scared to death of all the new people and Derek had pry her little fingers off his neck to even get her in the door. She was fine within five to ten minutes, Kee's teacher later told them, but Derek always felt like a bad father for leaving his crying baby in a place she didn't want to be.

Rosalyn, on the other hand, had heard so much about school from her older sisters that she was ecstatic to be joining them in the large brick building only a few blocks from their home. So ecstatic, that she grabbed her things and started to walk to said school before everyone was dressed let alone up. Finding his five-year-old daughter's bed empty at 6:45 in the morning caused Derek to feel like he had aged ten years in ten minutes. Rosalyn was never quite sure why she was in trouble for wanting to go to school, but she never left the house again without telling someone.

On his first day of school, Rhys was kind of quiet. Derek was afraid they had another crier and he wasn't sure what to do with that, especially as his son had never seem shy before. As they drove towards the elementary school, Derek started to tense up. This was the first time Penelope wasn't with him when they dropped their babies off on the first day. There had been an emergency at work and she had left long before the children had gotten up. Derek was afraid that if Rhys started to cry that he would just pick their son up and bring Rhys along to work with him without Penelope there to discourage that rescuing (yet not helpful) type of behavior.

Once they reached Rhys classroom, however, the young boy didn't start to cry. If anything, he seemed more determined than ever. After a quick hug and a kiss, Rhys informed his father that he would see Derek after school got out. With a grin, Derek promised that he and Penelope would both be there. Rhys then made his way to his new desk and sat looking expectantly at his new teacher.

Derek finally felt okay about leaving one of his children in a brand new place (to them) all by themselves.

---

Four hours later, Derek and Penelope found themselves waiting outside with several other parents for the first day of kindergarten to end. Within minutes, a whole tribe of children came rushing out the doors screaming and excitedly greeting their parents. Rhys was not one of those children.

Getting anxious, and about ready to rush into the school with his gun drawn, Derek finally spotted his son. Rhys came stomping out of the building with a scowl firmly etched into his face and a worried teacher watching his progress.

Penelope went scurrying over to their son and held out her arms for a hug. Rhys just gave her a dirty look and continued on his way to the car. Derek and Penelope exchange a worried look before following after him.

Once he was seated and buckled in, Rhys threw his backpack on the floor before crossing his arms and glowering at his parents.

Twisted around in the front passenger seat to get a good look at their son, Penelope anxiously asked, "Rhys, what's wrong?"

Derek didn't bother to start the car, instead, he too looked worriedly at their youngest.

"I can't read," Rhys finally announced in disgust.

"Huh?" were his parents' stuttered answers.

"I can't read. Lina and Kee and Roz can all read and I can't. School's stupid. Miss Carrington said we won't learn to read for weeks and weeks and that we have to learn the alphabet and how to spell our names first. I know the alphabet and I can spell my name… R-h-y-s…and I can write it too, but she still won't teach me how to read."

Catching his wife's eye, Derek had to hurry and look away so as to control his mirth. Rhys would not be very happy if his parents started to laugh at him. Though it did explain the boy's intensity just that morning.

Valiantly keeping the laughter from escaping, Penelope promised, "Rhys, when we get home I will teach you how to read."

"Really?" Rhys asked, his brown eyes lighting up.

"Really," his mother affirmed.

"Let's start with my doggie book first. Roz can't read that one yet," Rhys smugly informed his parents.

Understanding the need to read a little better, Derek silently laughed as he put their car in motion.


	22. First Awkward Questions

_A/N: Slight mention of Chapter Three: First Loose Tooth_

* * *

Back when he and Penelope first started dating, Derek's sisters thought it would be a great idea to come visit the woman who captured their little brother's interest so much that he actually _told_ them about her. In a weekend that he was always certain contain more liquor than sense, Penelope told Desiree and Sarah all about their chaps conversation. His sisters thought that was hilariously funny and upon their return home (and being stone cold sober) they sent Penelope various pictures of him with his shirt off (Derek never realized there were that many pictures, let alone how often he must have run around shirtless) to help in the chap picture recreation.

Further, when he and Penelope got married, Desiree and Sarah got together and bought Derek a pair expensive, black, leather chaps. It was then that Derek found out that Penelope _had_ photo shopped a whole series of pictures of him in chaps. Feeling silly and fairly delighted about being married, Derek actually consented to let Penelope take pictures of him wearing those black, leather chaps.

It was these pictures that Derek found Keelia looking at as she sat next to a open box she had found under her parents' king size bed. Never before had Derek been so grateful of his decision to keep his black, silk boxers on (in case Penelope had some crazy idea to show the pictures to his sisters) while wearing those chaps.

"Kee? What are you doing?" Derek really hoped that nonchalant would work and that his curious seven-year-old wouldn't ask any questions.

"Daddy, what are you wearing?" she asked, holding up that damning print.

Swiftly taking the picture from Keelia, Derek countered with, "Kee, what have we told you about going through Momma and my room without permission?"

"Momma said I could get her box of stuff so Roz and I could play dress up."

"Isn't that kept in our closet?"

"Momma said she might have put it under the bed."

Derek decided that he and Penelope were going to have a major talk later. This whole chap thing was all her fault anyway.

"So, what are you wearing?" the persistent little girl repeated.

"Chaps," Derek concisely answered.

"Why aren't you wearing pants?"

Derek wondered why Lina or Roz couldn't have found the box of their parents' honeymoon relics. Lina, at the oh so mature age of twelve, would have rolled her eyes and assumed her parents were being stupid. Roz would have **known** her father had once been a cowboy (just as she knew he was the toothfairy) and would have asked Derek if he had met _Hank the Cowdog_. But, no, Derek aggravatedly thought. It had to be his most thoughtful, curious child, who would want to know the real answer not whatever pat thing he tried to placate her with.

Crouching down to his daughter's level and looking her in the eyes, Derek said, "Kee, baby, you don't want to know."

"Daddy…"

"Kee, I promise, you will thank me later. You do_ not_ want to know the story behind that picture."

It was obvious from the look on her face that Kee was not happy with that pronouncement, but unlike her sisters, knew when her father wasn't going to budge.

Looking down at the picture, she asked, "Would Mamma tell me?"

"Not if she ever wants to see those chaps again," Derek muttered to himself.

Not quietly enough, however, as Keelia looked back up in surprise and asked, "Huh?"

Leaning forward, Derek kissed her forehead and pulled the picture out of her little hands. "You'll understand when you're older baby. You won't want to, trust me, but you will."

With that, Derek gathered up the pictures and the open box to ready for destruction. If he had any say in it, those pictures would never fall into the wrong hands again.


	23. First Period

A/N: This idea comes from Daisyangel. Thanks!

* * *

"Daddy!"

Derek heard his Keelia's stress-filled call coming from the upstairs and immediately tossed his book aside before running to her. Standing outside the locked and closed bathroom door, Derek called, "Kee! What's wrong?"

"Um…" Now that she called her father upstairs, she wasn't quite sure what to say to him.

"Kee girl…sweetie…talk to me," he begged. "Let me in."

"When's Mama going to be home?" she whispered through the door.

"Not for hours. She took Roz and Rhys to that book signing, remember?"

"Oh. Okay. Um, Daddy, could you tell Mom I need her in here when she comes back?"

"Keelia, what's going on?" Derek demanded, feeling his worry get the better of him. "Stand back! I'm going to bust down the door."

"What! No! Dad! Stay out!" Kee screeched at the top of her lungs.

"Only if you tell me what's going on."

"…Daddy, how about if we compromise?"

"Oh?"

"You bring me the phone and I'll call Lina."

"Your sister at Columbia. She's too far away to help you," Derek roughly pointed out, not used to _this_ daughter defying him. "Keelia Maria Morgan either you tell me what's wrong or I'm busting down the door and calling 911!"

Bursting into wracking sobs, Keelia begged, "Daddy, please!"

His heart breaking at the please, Derek leaned his forehead against the still closed door. "Kee girl, let me help you. Please! I'm just worried about you."

Hearing the door lock click, Derek stepped back and watched as one, watery, brown eye appeared in the crack between the door and the doorframe.

"Kee…" he gently asked.

Sniffling, she sobbed, "My period started and there's nothing in the bathroom and I don't know what to do!"

"Your period," he repeated in a dead sort of voice, taking another step back.

"Yes," she wailed.

Rubbing a hand over his head, Derek earnestly wished his wife was home. That, or Keelia's period started while Alina was still home for summer break just three days before.

"Um…Kee girl…did Mama or Lina tell you…that is, your mother has some things in our bathroom. Do you want me to get that?"

"I can just stay in here," Kee volunteered, pathetically rubbing the tears out of her eyes.

"No, no," Derek answered. "I'll go get your mother's…pads. Yes…um, you just stay here."

Hurrying to the master bathroom, Derek mumbled, "You would think with two sisters, a wife, and three daughters their _special time_ would not faze me like this."

Grabbing the box of pads, Derek hurried back to his softly crying daughter.

"Here you go, Kee. Just…um, unwrap one and slap in down on the crotch of your panties, okay?"

"Daddy! I know that!" Keelia squeaked as she shut the bathroom door.

"Come downstairs when you're done. I'll have a surprise waiting for you."

Minutes later, Keelia shuffled down the stairs looking more embarrassed that she had any right to be. Feeling bad that his reaction caused this, Derek patted the cushion next to him on the couch. Keelia quickly raced across the space and sat down next to her father, letting him drape his arm around her shoulders.

"Here," Derek said, handing her a bowl of ice cream.

Taking it with a smile, Keelia replied, "_Chocolate Explosion_?"

"Your mother prefers this during her period."

"Daddy, will this ever get less awkward?"

"Sure. Next month we'll be all prepared. Soon, you'll be just like your mama and Lina, calling me at the store and demanding I pick up your supplies."

Keelia giggled at the mere idea.

"Why don't you tell us to pick it up ourselves?"

Kissing the top of her head, Derek replied, "Because you're my girls."

Scooping up a big spoonful of ice cream, Keelia asked, "Do we have to share how I freaked out with Mama or Lina?"

"Nope, Kee girl. As long as we don't have to tell them how I freaked out, too."

Giving her father a bright grin, Keelia assured him, "It will be our little secret."


	24. First Solitary Visit to Grandma's House

A/N: One of the managers where I work was telling stories about his youngest daughter (who, btw, is one of the funniest kids I have ever met). This story was inspired by her.

* * *

"Hey, handsome," Penelope sighed as she languidly stretched along her husband's side. "What are you thinking about?"

The pregnant pause caused her to tilt her head up and look into her silent husband's eyes.

"Derek."

"Mama…I'm sorry."

Propping herself up on one elbow, Penelope asked, "Why are you sorry?"

Pulling her back down against his chest, Derek said, "Here I am, all alone with my sexy, naked wife and instead of thinking about her, I'm wondering how my mother is handling our four demons."

Laughing, Penelope pressed her lips to her husband's well muscled chest. "You're just a good son and father. _And_ we haven't been alone together for an entire week since we've had kids for…"

"We've _never_ been alone together for an entire week since we started having kids."

"We need to send them to your mother's house more often."

Laughing, Derek hugged his wife closer to him. "Only if Mom hasn't killed them in the mean time."

"Why don't you go ahead and call them? Make sure everyone's okay."

"Are you sure, baby girl?"

Propping herself up to looking into her husband's rich brown eyes, Penelope said, "Chocolate goodness, what kind of mother do you think I am? Of course I want to check on our children."

Grinning, Derek grabbed his phone and quickly dialed his mother before putting it on speakerphone.

"Hello! This is Grandma Fran Morgan's house!"

"Hey, Roz baby."

"Daddy! Are you and Mama having fun on your trip?"

"Yes, we are," Penelope answered.

"Hi, Mama!"

"Hi, Roz. Are you being good?"

Penelope's question was followed by a silence no parent wants to hear. "About that…"

"Rosalyn," Derek sternly prompted.

"I got on Grandma's roof today," she quickly informed her parents.

"What?" Derek shouted.

"Are you alright?" Penelope asked just as loudly.

"Oh, I'm fine," Roz assured her parents. "Grandma let me and Lina and Kee and even Rhys have a picnic on the roof. She didn't come up because she said her bones were too old. But! Aunt Sarah and Uncle David joined us later."

"It sounds like you had fun," Penelope said while giving her husband a worried look.

"Yeah," Roz agreed. "We might do that again tomorrow," she nonchalantly added.

"Roz baby," Derek interrupted. "Would you mind getting your grandma for me? Mama and I need to talk to her."

"Okay, Daddy! I love you."

"Love you, too."

"I love you, Mama."

"I love you, baby," Penelope assured her youngest daughter.

"Here's grandma. It's Mama and Daddy," Derek and Penelope heard Roz tell Fran as the phone switched positions.

"Derek. Penelope," Fran tried to wheedle. "It's not what you think."

"Oh, Mother, I believe it's exactly what I think," Derek replied, using his best interrogators voice.

Penelope could practically hear her mother-in-law gulp worriedly over the line.


	25. First Sisterly Relationship Problems

A/N: This story is for chatana who asked for two updates at once. Hope you like this chapter as well.

* * *

"Daddy," Lina whined as she stomped into her parents' home office. "I don't like being a big sister."

Looking up from the file he was reviewing, Derek sighed, "Alina, no matter how many times you ask, we're not returning Keelia. There's nowhere to return her to."

"But, she doesn't _do_ anything."

Reaching out, Derek grabbed his oldest and pulled her onto his lap and into a hug. "I promise, one day, she'll be fun. When you're older, you'll both be glad you're sisters."

Dropping her head against her father's shoulder, Lina moaned, "But what do I do with her now?"

"You can teach her things," Derek suggested.

"Daddy, Kee's not smart. She isn't learning anything I teach her. She can't color. She can't read. She doesn't even know her name."

"It took you awhile to learn all those things, too," Derek pointed out.

The Morgans' worldly five-year-old just rolled her eyes at her father's inane ramblings and jumped off his lap. "I'm going to go watch a movie," Lina informed her father. "Kee can join me if she stays quiet."

"That's very kind of you," Derek praised his oldest.

"I know," the little girl said as she trotted out the door.

Laughing, Derek turned back to his file.

* * *

"Daddy," Alina softly said as she knocked on the door to her parents' home office.

"Lina," Derek replied, looking up from his file. "What's up?"

Pulling over her mother's empty chair, Lina sat down and looked her father in the eyes. "Daddy, do remember how you promised that Kee would be fun one day?"

"Yes," Derek answered warily. "I remember."

"When's that day going to come about?"

"Alina!"

"What?"

"Alina, you know what!"

Lina slumped back into her chair with a heavy sigh. "It's just that Kee's so quiet. She never embarrasses me at school. She never steals my things. She never rats me out for stuff."

"You have Rosalyn for that," Derek reminded her.

"True," Lina acknowledged. "But, Keelia's so boring. She just sits in her room and studies."

Leaning back in his chair, Derek observed his daughter for a moment before saying, "Let me get this straight, Lina girl. You are complaining because you have _nothing_ to complain about."

"Regarding Keelia."

"Regarding Keelia," Derek agreed.

"It's not normal, Daddy. Sisters are supposed to have volatile relationships. Kee and Roz argue all the time."

"Ah," Derek replied. "So, that's your problem."

Looking up at her father in surprise, Alina asked, "What's my problem?"

Standing up, Derek pulled his oldest into a hug. "Kee and Roz are only two and half years apart in age. You and Kee are five years apart."

"So?"

"So, that is why it seems like Kee and Roz are closer. Neither one loves you any less. They just respect you more than they do each other."

"Are you sure?" Lina self-consciously asked. "Are you sure Keelia doesn't just dislike me?"

"I am positive," Derek assured his daughter. "Kee thinks the world of you. She's just quieter about it. You are the one who finally taught her how to write her name."

"That's true," Lina acknowledged with a grin. "If I left it up to you and Mama, Kee would _still_ be writing her K's backwards."

"Go do your homework," Derek commanded with a laugh, as he sat back down at his desk.

Giving him a peck on the top of his head, Lina said, "See ya later, Daddy."

* * *

"Daddy, why is it that you always seem to be sitting in here when I need to talk to you about Keelia?"

Derek looked up from the letter he was writing to find his oldest leaning against the doorjamb of his and Penelope's home office and smiling widely.

"Personally, I think you waited until I came in here to try and catch me alone."

Nodding, Alina grabbed her mother's empty chair and pulled it over to her father's desk. "You know me too well."

"So, what's it this time? Is Keelia still boring? Do you still want to trade her for another sister?"

"No, but…" Frowning, Lina continued, "Can we bribe Josh to go away?"

"I take it you don't like your sister's fiancé."

"No…I like him. He's perfect for Kee. They're adorable together."

"Are you upset about the fact that your younger sister is getting married and you don't even have a boyfriend?"

"Thanks for pointing that out, Dad," Lina dryly replied. "But, no. That's not it."

Shrugging, Derek said, "I give up. Why are we trying to get rid of Josh?"

Sighing heavily, Lina finally explained. "After I went away to college, Kee and I finally became close. We emailed and texted each other all the time." Giving her father a half grin, she added, "Kee _finally_ became fun. Now she's going away."

Reaching out, Derek grabbed his daughter's hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. "No, she's not."

"Yes, she is," Lina insisted. "You're a guy. You don't know what it's like. When people get married, they don't spend as much time with their friends as they used to. Kee will have a new life and a new home. Nothing will be the same."

"You still have Roz."

Giving her father a look that said she clearly thought he was an idiot, Lina replied, "That's not the same either."

"I'm sorry, sweetheart, I don't know what to say."

Derek felt lost seeing his oldest baby girl looking so pathetic.

"You might not know what to say," a new voice inserted. "But I do."

Looking towards the doorway, the two Morgans found they were being joined by the object of their discussion.

"Oh," Lina asked, leaning against the back of her chair. "And what's that?"

"It may not be the same," Keelia acknowledged as she walked further into the room. "But I'll always need my big sister. Especially when Josh is being an idiot. Who else am I going to complain to?"

"Awe," Lina cried, jumping up to pull her sister into a hug. "I will totally be there with chocolate ice cream and girly movies whenever you need it."

"I don't think I could get married tomorrow if I didn't believe you would still be there for me."

"Of course you could," Lina assured the never quite as confident Keelia. "But, you never have to worry about losing me. Got it."

"Got it," Kee agreed, pulling her sister into another hug.

Watching his girls hug, Derek just smiled.


	26. First Wedding

Hearing his oldest daughter's strident tones as she bossed the younger children around, Derek looked up from the book he was reading while he had lounged in a chair on his back porch. Out in the middle of the yard, Lina stood with her hands on her hips yelling for the whole neighborhood to hear (in a great imitation of her mother when frustrated) while Kee sat patiently on the ground in front of her waiting for further instructions, Roz happily tore apart the flowers she was supposed to be holding, and Josh Saunders (the little boy from next door who was about Kee's age and seemed to constantly live in the mud) was happily chasing Clooney around the yard with a muddy stick.

"Hey," Derek yelled, stopping the chaos in progress. "What's going on?"

"We're having a wedding," Lina declared. "But no one's doing what they're supposed to."

"**You** haven't told me _what_ to do," Kee hotly complained.

Lina ignored her quite correct sister and turned to her father imploringly. "Make them play _right_!"

"Alina," Derek started in his most parental voice. "How are you supposed to behave when you play with others?"

"But, Daddy," Lina whined. "I can't let them play too if they won't do it right!"

"I don't wanna to marry no **girl**!" Josh yelled. "Girls have cooties."

"Daddy," Keelia sobbed as she rushed to father. "I don't have _cooties_!"

"No, Kee girl," Derek soothed. "You don't."

Josh, not liking the idea of a girl being right when she was clearly wrong, yelled even louder, "Yes, you do!"

Two-year-old Rosalyn, seeing her sister weeping heavily, dropped her half-destroyed flowers and rushed to her father to join in the crying.

"Ahh!" Lina screamed, stomping over to her sisters.

"Alina!" Derek snapped.

Not listening, Lina grabbed her sister's arm and dragged the now quiet Kee into the middle of the yard. Curious, Roz toddled after her sisters, her tears long forgotten.

"Josh, come here," Lina demanded.

"No!" he shouted back.

"Joshua!"

Voicing his opinion, Clooney gave a loud, staccato bark before seeming to grin at his girls with his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth.

"Clooney wants you to be the groom," Alina smugly interpreted.

Looking over at the only other man there, Josh was disappointed to not see Derek leap to his defense. As he had played at the Morgans' house before, Josh knew Alina wouldn't let him leave until she got her way, he huffed and then stomped his way over to the girls.

"Fine, I'll marry her, but I won't kiss her!" he declared.

"Daddy!" Lina appealed to her father. "The bride and groom have gotta kiss."

"No kissing, Lina," Derek declared. "You girls don't need to kiss boys until you're at least thirty."

"Fine," she said with a heavy sigh.

With quick instructions and some dragging of the players, Alina soon had everyone in their positions. Lina stood at the top of the "aisle" as the minister, next to a sulky Josh, while Derek hummed the wedding march as Roz threw mutilated flowers to the ground, and Clooney lead the lovely bride (who was wearing a white towel draped across her head as a veil) down the aisle.

Looking over the carefully placed audience of stuffed animals and dolls, Lina announced, "Dearly beloved. We are here to see my sister, Keelia, and Josh get married. Marriage is important because…"

"Hurry it up," Josh demanded. "I don't wanna miss dinner for this. It's taco night!"

Scowling, Alina declared, "The marriage person is supposed to make a speech. I saw it at my Uncle Spencer's wedding. The marriage man talked _forever_! Right, Daddy?"

Biting back his grin, as Derek knew Alina would be upset to see him smile during such a serious moment, he replied, "The reverend did speak for some time on the importance of marriage."

"See," she bragged. "I gotta talk."

"Lina girl," Derek interrupted. "Why don't we hurry it up just this once? It **is** almost dinner time."

"Fine," she sulked. "Josh, will you marry my sister?"

"If I hafta."

"You hafta," Lina assured him. "Kee, will you marry Josh?"

"Okay," Kee quickly agreed.

"You're supposed to say 'I do,'" she whined.

"And you're supposed to ask if there are any objections to this union," Derek added.

"Right! Who doesn't want to see this couple gets married?"

"I don't," Derek declared, scooping up his middle daughter. Keelia laughed with delight as her father swung her around. "I'm not ready to lose her yet."

"Daddy!" Alina whined. "You can't stop the wedding! Josh and Kee are supposed to get married."

"No we're not!" Josh declared. "Girls are gross. They have cooties!"

"Josh," Penelope called as she stepped out onto the back porch. "Your mother says it's time for you to go home."

"Good," Josh yelled, running away from all the icky girls.

* * *

"Are you going to object or are you actually going to let me marry Josh this time?" Keelia asked, spying her father in her mirror.

It took him a minute, but the memory came to Derek and he laughed. "I knew I shouldn't have let your mother invite the Saunders over for dinner last Christmas."

Carefully turning so as to not crease her expensive, white gown, Kee smiled brightly at her father. "When have you ever _let_ Mama do anything?"

"You have me there, sweet girl." Shaking his head, Derek added, "I should have known my luck was running out. You and Josh were just friends for _way_ too long."

"I hadn't seen him for years, Daddy. We went to different colleges and didn't bother to keep in touch…if it weren't for Mama…"

"If it weren't for your mother, you wouldn't be twenty-two and getting married. I seem to remember you promising me not to kiss a boy until you were _at least_ thirty."

"No, Alina promised you that."

"Yes, well," Derek sighed, "she's too much like me for me to even hope she hasn't ever kissed a boy."

"That and you and Mama caught her making out with a boy on our couch when they were supposed to be doing homework," Kee replied with an impish grin.

"That too," he agreed, smiling back at his daughter. "You do make a beautiful bride."

"And I look pretty good with Josh?" she asked, a hopeful look upon her face.

"You two do make a beautiful couple." After a pause, Derek added, "He better treat you right or…"

"I know," Keelia interrupted with a long suffering sigh. "Mama will make him disappear – social security number, bank statements, cell phone, credit report, tax records, etc., all gone."

Looking just a little offended, Derek said, "I'll have you know that I am fairly scary myself. I can make a person disappear—permanently!"

Giggling, Keelia stood up and carefully rearranged her skirt before leaning over and giving her father a kiss on the cheek.

"At your advanced age, Daddy, you'd need Mama to make sure that there is no evidence."

"Keelia Maria Morgan…"

Blinking back tears, she asked, "Do you feel like giving me away now?"

Pulling his little girl into a hug, Derek whispered, "I'll never be ready to give you away. In fact, I've decided I'm not. Josh is just going to have to become a Morgan."

"Oh, Daddy. I love you."

"I love you too, Keelia Maria. I'll always love you."

"Hey," Alina's voice interrupted. "I'm trying to keep this wedding on schedule here. We need you two at the end of the aisle. Now!"

Watching his oldest storm off to check on something else, Derek said, "She's acting just like she did all those years ago in our backyard."

"Lina has always been super list oriented," Kee agreed.

"I said now," Alina snapped, popping backing the room.

Offering his arm to his daughter, Derek asked, "Ready?"

A soft smile spreading across her face, Keelia confirmed, "Oh so ready."

"Good."

"And, let's go," Alina instructed.

* * *

"Handsome," Penelope asked, walking down the darkened hallway of the upstairs in their home. Finding him sitting in Keelia's old room with his head in his hands and his elbows propped up on his knees, she smiled and sat down next to him on the stripped bed.

"I'm blaming you," he said, not looking up at his wife.

Leaning her head against his shoulder, she answered, "And I'm happy to take the blame."

Tilting his head to see her face, Derek asked, "Aren't you going to miss her?"

"Of course. But, when I see Keelia and Josh together, it reminds me of us. I know how happy we are together and I want that for our children."

"I really hate it when you're right, Goddess."

Grinning, she looped her arms around his neck. "You should be used to it by now, the Chocolate Covered Apple of My Eye."

Bringing his lips down to meet his wife's, Derek decided Penelope was indeed right. He wanted all of his children to one day be as blessed as he was.


End file.
